Ahmedabad plane crash boosts drive against aviation academy in Amreli

The horrific 12 June Ahmedabad plane crash has provided momentum to a campaign launched against an aviation academy by the residents of Gujarat's Amreli town in April this year.

The campaign was launched after a trainee pilot was killed on 22 April when his training aircraft belonging to a private aviation academy crashed into a residential area in Amreli and caught fire. No one was hurt on the ground.

On Sunday, around 50 residents held a meeting at a town community hall and decided to put forward two demands — either shut down the private aviation academy operating from Amreli airport, or make sure trainee aircraft do not fly over residential areas.

"The campaign to get the academy to close was started owing to concerns for the safety of people. On Sunday, many city residents held a meeting and offered tributes to those who had lost their lives in the Ahmedabad plane crash. During the meeting, we discussed future strategy on how we can take ahead this campaign," one of the campaign's leaders Ajay Agravat said.

"We are even ready to go on an indefinite fast. In the coming days, we will make people aware and ask them to join our campaign. It is a matter of their safety. As an alternative to the closure of the academy, planes from it must not fly above the city area," he added.

Those heading the campaign had also submitted memorandums to officials, MLAs and local Lok Sabha MP Bharat Sutariya.

"I have already urged the ministry of civil aviation to cancel the academy's licence after getting a representation from locals. I agree with people's demands. We need a strong reason to demand cancellation of the license," Sutariya said.

"After the death of a trainee pilot, I told the ministry that the institute does not have good quality planes and it poses a danger to city residents, which I think is a strong reason. I also agree to the alternative solution of not allowing the academy's planes to fly over the city area," the MP added.

A total of 241 passengers on board and 29 people on the ground died after Air India's Ahmedabad-London flight crashed into a medical college complex shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport on 12 June.